Atoms Quiz


Atoms
(Click on the question number for the answer.)

Atomic Mass
What part of an atom contains 99.95% of its mass?

Variety is the Spice of Life
About how many different kinds of atoms are there?
A. 10
B. 100
C. 1000
D. 10,000
E. infinite

Element Essentials
The distinguishing feature of each element is the number of what subatomic particle in its nucleus?

History of Science
The concept of fundamental chunks of matter called atoms is attributed to ...
A. Galileo
B. Ptolemy
C. Aristotle
D. Democritus
E. Eratosthenes

Atomic Size
If the nucleus essentially determines the weight of an atom, what subatomic particles essentially determine the size of an atom?

Neutrinos
Neutrinos are high energy particles with a(n) ...
A. zero charge
B. positive charge
C. negative charge
D. fractional charge
E. alternating charge

Really Elementary Particles
It possesses only a fraction of the charge of an electron and it seems to be a constituent of baryons and mesons. Name this elementary particle.

Isotopes
Isotopes of the same element may have different numbers of ...
A. ions
B. nuclei
C. protons
D. neutrons
E. tachyons

Weight Classes
Subatomic particles may be divided into two main classifications, the heavyweights and the lightweights. What is the correct term for the lightweights?

Atomic Volume
Most of the volume of an atom consists of ...
A. quarks
B. nucleus
C. protons
D. neutrinos
E. empty space

Charge
What kind of electrical charge is possessed by the nucleus of an atom?

Not Nuclear
Which are not subatomic particles?
A. pions
B. mesons
C. quasars
D. hadrons
E. neutrons

Electronic Adjectives
What adjective indicates those electrons in the outer shell of an atom?

Sum Particles
The sum of protons and neutrons in the nucleus describes what property of an atom?
A. mass number
B. atomic mass
C. atomic number
D. atomic valence
E. specific gravity

Negativity
Which of the common subatomic particles carries a negative electrical charge?

Energetic Atoms
When an atom gains so much energy that one or more of its electrons escapes from it completely, the atom is ...
A. ionized
B. carbonized
C. vulcanized
D. materialized
E. crystallized

Kinds of Quarks
The strange and the charmed are two of the six identified types of quarks. Name any two of the other four types.

Uranium
A U-238 nucleus differs from a U-235 nucleus because it contains three additional ...
A. protons
B. isotopes
C. neutrons
D. electrons
E. alpha particles

Natural Forces
Which of the four fundamental forces holds particles together in the nucleus of an atom?

Neutrons
Neutrons readily penetrate matter chiefly because they ...
A. occupy no space
B. are electrically neutral
C. are denser than other particles
D. have a smaller mass than protons
E. achieve higher velocities than other particles

Indivisible Items
Many of the presumed elementary particles are now thought to be composed of smaller units called quarks, but the particles in the lepton family still seem indivisible. Name the most familiar lepton.

Acidic Atoms
The greatest number of atoms are present in one molecule of ...
A. citric acid
B. nucleic acid
C. lysergic acid
D. sulfuric acid
E. hydrochloric acid

Experimental Physics
In 1911, Ernest Rutherford bombarded gold foil with alpha particles. Most passed right through, but some were deflected from their path and some bounced backward from the foil. He had discovered what part of the atom?

Special States
The lowest energy state for an atom is its ...
A. base state
B. solid state
C. ground state
D. ionized state
E. excited state

Falling Down
An electron at a higher energy level can spontaneously fall to a lower one. When it does so, the difference in energy between the initial and final states is emitted in the form of a ...

Antiparticles
The positron is an antiparticle of the ...
A. pion
B. proton
C. meson
D. neutron
E. electron

Hadrons
Depending upon the number of constituent quarks, members of the hadron class of subatomic particles are either mesons or baryons. Identify the two most common baryons.

Atomic Physics
Which particles comprising an atom have the same mass?
A. neutrons and protons
B. mesons and neutrons
C. electrons and protons
D. neutrons and electrons
E. protons and neutrinos

Mass to Energy
The mass of an atomic nucleus is always less than the sum of the masses of the neutrons and protons of which it is composed. The difference is called the mass defect and the energy equivalent of this mass defect is known as what kind of energy?

Nuclear Names
What is the general name for any atom that has more electrons than protons?
A. ion
B. quark
C. isotope
D. positron
E. alpha particle


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Answers to Atoms
1. nucleus
2. B
3. protons
4. D
5. electrons
6. A
7. quark
8. D
9. leptons
10. E
11. positive
12. C
13. valence
14. A
15. electron
16. A
17. up, down, top, bottom
18. C
19. strong force
20. B
21. electron
22. B
23. nucleus
24. C
25. photon
26. E
27. proton, neutron
28. A
29. binding energy
30. A

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